Strawberry Shortcake
by Atuliel
Summary: AH. Elizabeth decides to make her favorite dessert on the same day that her favorite person shows up at her house.


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. All belongs to _General Hospital_ creators and writers.

* * *

On a hot July day, nothing was better than strawberry shortcake. The cool, rich cream of vanilla floating across your tongue, followed by the absolutely tantalizing juice of a mashed up strawberry, and finished with a warm hunk of buttery, sweet biscuit. Just the thought of it made Elizabeth's mouth water, so when she drove by a small farm outside of Port Charles bearing the sign, 'Strawberries .50 a carton,' she had to pull over.

She felt bad buying them—strawberries were a secret guilty pleasure of hers. Whenever she bought them, she'd go on a complete rampage, eating them endlessly and returning for more and more of that delicious sweetness. Thus, it was something Emily always had to stop her from doing. She was the only one who knew about Elizabeth's little obsession, so there was no one left to stop her.

Luckily, the single mom had two young children to eat them with her, so she wouldn't be eating them all herself. She wanted to at least share the experience with her children. Strawberry shortcake was something no person should miss out on.

Lucky had the kids for the day, but they'd return to her house in time for dessert before they went to bed.

It was too beautiful out to stay cooped up indoors, so Elizabeth set up on the porch. The newspapers underneath her cartons fluttered as a breeze flew through, cooling her in her capris and red tank top. She stemmed the bright red morsels of delight, resisting the urge to wipe away the sweat on her brow. The crimson juice poured out of the strawberries, flowing down her arms and thickly coating her hands.

Even though it was a sticky, messy business, Elizabeth still enjoyed the preparation of the shortcake. It took her mind off of the rest of the world and gave it a good, relaxing time. All she had to do was pluck the green leaves from the strawberries—repetitious, but simple and calming.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth saw a flicker of black and turned sharply, surprised to find the rapidly retreating back of a man in a leather jacket. Setting the bucket of leaves on the porch, she stood and gripped the porch railing, leaning over it.

"Jason?" she called, stunned.

He stopped in his tracks, heaving a deep sigh. She could see from the porch that he was rubbing his forehead, like he always did when he was displeased. He turned around, shoving his hands in his pants pockets.

"Hi," Jason said quietly, frowning.

"Hi," she replied, watching him uncertainly. "…What are you doing here?"

"I just…." He gestured vaguely, unable to keep his hands in his pockets for long. "I j-just wanted to make sure that…that everything was okay. That you an-and ou—_your_ boys were safe. Uh, Zacchara may be…making a move and I…I wanted to be sure it wasn't…you he was targeting."

"Oh," Elizabeth said.

The birds twittered in the silence, filling it with something other than her breathing, thank God. She didn't know what to say. The last time she had seen him was at the nurses' hub, when she had said those painful words. She knew she was falling back into an old pattern: act nonchalant, like it doesn't matter. She couldn't help herself, though. Seeing him around, hearing Spinelli talk about him and another woman, was too painful and she could only retreat into her shell—the one that had always been there as a safe haven since her rape.

"Well, we're fine," she blurted out at last. "Um, the boys are with Lucky, so…."

At this point, Elizabeth noticed that she'd been spreading juice on her porch with her red hands. Cursing mentally, she moaned and edged backward to grab one of the newspapers. Jason watched her for a moment, then looked down at his feet, left behind in the awkward silence. She swept the newspaper across the porch railing, scrubbing at it to get the red out.

"Okay," Jason said at length. "Uh…I'm gonna…."

He gestured behind him and started to back away. Elizabeth looked up in alarm. No matter how much pain she was in because of Jason's decisions, she knew one thing—she did _not_ want him to leave.

"Oh—um, wait," she called, making him spin on his heel to face her again. "I-I still have a lot of these strawberries to stem and it-it would help me out a _lot_ if you would stay and help? Please? I mean, what's the harm in you stemming some strawberries for me?"

She gazed at him helplessly, holding the newspaper on the railing and waiting for him to say something, anything. She begged him with her eyes, praying that he wouldn't walk away again, willing him to understand her need for him.

Jason rubbed his cheek, then sighed, nodding. "Okay, uh, yeah, sure."

He came forward, stepping up onto the porch next to her. Elizabeth smiled briefly at him, pulling one of the chairs across from hers and gesturing for him to sit. He lowered himself gradually, rubbing his hands on his pants. She picked up one of her many stemmers and held it out for him to take. Their fingers brushed, eliciting a gasp from Elizabeth. It felt as though she'd been singed. And she may as well have been, for a fire rushed over her skin, bringing a hot blush to her cheeks as her heart begged for more of his touch. Instead, she quickly dropped into her chair and grabbed another strawberry.

"Um…you just take the very top of it off," she said, demonstrating on hers. "And if it's got any excessive brown or black, just toss it in the bucket. Some of it you can just snap off, but usually they're too rotten to be eaten. So…."

She gestured for him to go ahead. Jason quickly clipped off the top, then let out a moue of surprise as the juice leaked out on his hands.

She chuckled. "Yeah, your hands are gonna get a little…red and wet."

"I see that."

Elizabeth found his sparkling blue eyes intent on her hands as she almost unconsciously continued stemming. Swallowing deeply, she tried to keep the deep tingling that his gaze brought at bay. Jason cleared his throat and shifted, slipping off his jacket to fully expose her to his biceps. Closing her eyes tightly for a moment, she tried to sway her mind away from thoughts of what it was like to have those strong arms wrapped around her.

As they worked on in silence, Elizabeth found herself watching Jason more and more. It had been hard the past few days—seeing him at the hospital—but she hadn't had to be around him for too long. It was more bearable that way, the short intervals of wishing he would kiss her. Now she found herself wishing for other, more complicated things.

_Damn the mob! And damn Sonny Corinthos!_ she thought angrily, carefully wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

A glance up toward her helper found his gaze solely on her. Elizabeth allowed herself a small shudder and tried to go back to work, but instead she found herself pulled into his eyes. His eyes were so easy to get lost in, so deep and shining. Best of all was when his eyes were filled with heat, as they were then. They seemed to have an alarming energy, a hypnotizing pull to them.

She was only jolted out of it when her hand hit the bottom of the last carton. She jumped and glanced into the boxes, then looked at him again.

"We're done," she announced fake-cheerfully.

Jason nodded, handing her back the stemmer. She stood, tossing her stemmers together on the table and lifting the strainer full of strawberries.

"I have to rinse these off," Elizabeth explained uncomfortably. "Uh…y-you can come in. Since you need to wash your hands."

"All right."

He glanced at his scarlet-colored fingers and stood, following her inside. Elizabeth could practically feel him moving behind her as she led him into the kitchen, her stomach dropping to her feet and her heart rising up in her throat. She had the sinking feeling that she shouldn't have invited him in, but he was being so cooperative she decided to shove it aside. Whatever had brought on this sudden willingness to obey her, she didn't want to ruin it.

As soon as they were in the kitchen, Elizabeth set the strawberries in the sink and turned on the faucet, running it over the berries.

"Uh…you're probably wondering why I'm doing this," she said lamely.

He grunted.

"I-I was out shopping and I saw a sign for fifty cent cartons," she continued, tipping the strainer this way and that. "It was so cheap I couldn't resist. Besides, Cam and Jake have never had strawberry shortcake, which is just…blasphemous."

She chuckled and grabbed a wash cloth from the cupboard above the sink, running it through the water.

"I…I've never had that, either," Jason said hesitantly. "Wh-what is it?"

Elizabeth looked at him, scandalized. "You have never had strawberry shortcake? Okay, that's it, you're staying until I've made the biscuits."

"No, it's okay, I-I should probably—"

"Go? Yeah, you're right," she agreed, nodding as she turned around to face him, bracing herself on the counter. "You probably should. Just let me do this for you."

Jason bowed his head, nodding slightly. "Okay," he said submissively.

"Here."

Elizabeth offered him the wet wash cloth and he took it carefully, avoiding her eyes. He rubbed lightly at his sticky hands, but none of it was coming off. She chuckled, pushing forward to take it from him. He held out his hands, surprised, and she grabbed his arm, scrubbing over his palm with the cloth. He dropped his free hand and she let out a shaky breath, realizing she'd just crossed the line between being civil and being private.

Trying to ignore the fact that she was so close she could feel his chest move in and out as he breathed, Elizabeth continued to scrub the juice away. She felt Jason lowering his head, coming closer. Taking deep breaths, focusing on letting air in and letting it out, she managed to block out the part of her mind telling her to just kiss him. The burning in her chest she recognized as both love and lust increased and she finally looked up into his eyes.

Jason wore a peculiar smile. He almost looked serious, except for the slight curve of his lips at the ends and the twinkle in his eye. Elizabeth flicked her gaze over his features, taking in his soft lips, his sharp nose, his deep blue eyes. She slowly bent her head toward his hand, keeping eye contact with him. He watched her bend down and press her lips against the pad of his thumb.

He sucked in a sharp breath as she opened her mouth and sucked at the juice-coated digit, closing her eyes. Stunned at the unexpected move, his eyes widened and he brought his free hand up to her shoulder, keeping himself steady. Tasting the sweet liquid, she pressed her tongue against his finger, making him gasp. She caressed his arm up and down with her own red hands, slowly dragging her lips up off of his thumb to meet his eyes.

Instead of their usual, intense moment, Jason captured her lips and cupped her cheeks quickly, his kiss filled with need and desire. Elizabeth closed her eyes and pressed up against him, reaching up the back of his shirt without hesitance. Soon, she found herself in the air and then settled on the counter in front of him. Breaking from his kiss, she quickly pulled his shirt up from his body and tossed it to the kitchen floor, hands immediately falling against his skin. She pressed her lips against his neck and he lifted his head high, letting out a quiet, steady moan, almost like a hum.

Kissing over his neck and collarbone, Elizabeth rubbed her hands against his back, bringing him closer until he bent his head down to capture her lips again. When he broke away with swollen lips, she could only gasp as he kissed down her chin, to her neck, then on down her chest.

"Oh, Jason," she moaned, digging her nails into his back lightly.

He lifted his head and kissed her forcefully enough to let her know he wasn't backing out this time, he wasn't leaving. At the same time, he picked her up from the counter, cradling her in his arms as he carried her up the stairs to her bedroom.

* * *

A couple hours later…

"Oh, God, I've missed you," Jason groaned, kissing her forehead.

Elizabeth laid in his arms, sweating and naked, eyes half-closed. She smiled a little at his words, running her fingers up and down the middle of his chest lazily. He rubbed her back and sighed, unbending his knee and stretching along the bed like a cat.

"I've missed you, too," she replied at last, kissing the nearest piece of his skin she could find. "And I don't think I should have to."

Jason took a deep breath. "I'm…I'm not sorry I came today, but…Elizabeth, you know the situation. I can't be near you or my son. Especially now."

"What do you mean, especially now?" she asked, craning her neck to look up at him, brow furrowed.

"I took over the business for Sonny," he said hesitantly, watching her as he ran a hand gently over her hair.

Registering this, Elizabeth scowled in thought and rested back against him again, waiting for a moment before saying anything.

"Permanently?"

"Yes."

"Jason…why?" she demanded, lifting onto herself to lean on her elbow. "Why would you do that? You may as well have stuck a bull's eye on your head and tattooed the word, 'target' on your arm."

He nodded, sighing, then met her eyes again. "I don't have anything else to lose," he said quietly. "So it doesn't matter."

"Maybe you don't think you have anything to lose, but I do," she said firmly, frowning. "I can't lose you. I've already lost a life with you and I can't…I can't watch you die. You have to find a way out of it, you have to—"

"I can't. The paperwork is…is pretty final," Jason replied resignedly.

Elizabeth watched him silently for a moment, fighting against the burning in her eyes. Closing her eyes as she looked away, she tried to think of a way it could work. How could that family she wanted work now? Could anything fix it?

"Jason!" she said suddenly, eyes wide open. "Y-you're in charge now. That-that means you can protect us yourself. You don't have t—"

"Elizabeth, don't do this to yourself," he pleaded with her sadly.

"No, just listen to me," she protested sharply. "You don't have to take orders from Sonny anymore. Any threat you can deal with your own way. You can keep us safe because you won't let anyone near us. Don't you see? Y-you can order the guards to stay on us, you can get rid of any threat that comes your way."

Rubbing his eyebrow in thought, Jason stared up at the ceiling for a moment, breathing slowly.

"Yeah, I-I guess you're right…."

Her heart skipped a beat. "You mean…?"

"I mean."

Crying out for joy, Elizabeth kissed him happily and thoroughly, until they were both panting for air. Jason grinned up at her.

"There are going to be changes—"

"I know. But Jason, we can be together," she said eagerly. "Whatever happens now, I don't care. Because you and I, and Jake and Cam, we're gonna be a family. We're gonna be safe because of you. And I know you think you don't deserve this, because of Michael, but Michael would want you to be happy."

He nodded. "I know."

She smiled and, unable to resist any longer, kissed him again. "You're gonna have to love me forever," she said quietly, hovering with her lips just centimeters from his.

"I will always love you, Elizabeth," he said firmly, caressing her cheek lightly.

"I love you so much," she murmured, kissing him lightly again. "You know…I've had my two favorite things today."

He chuckled. "And what are those?"

Elizabeth grinned down at him. "Strawberries and a bit of Jason Morgan."


End file.
